An Unwavering Resolve
by Dashiva
Summary: One man's quest to find the woman he loves may lead to his own destruction. Set three months after Unimatrix Zero


**Star Trek Voyager – An Unwavering Resolve**

Five of Twelve, Secondary Adjunct of Trimatrix 942, walked down from his alcove. His regeneration cycle had been completed several minutes ago, but still he'd stayed in his alcove. His thoughts were far away, directed at a place somewhere in the Delta Quadrant. Somewhere, in that immense sector of Federation-unexplored space, was a woman who had changed his existence forever.  
He walked towards one of the primary processing nodes in the Borg scout ship that he and his former drones had commandeered. Its Borg designation was Scout-628, but the newly liberated drones had nicknamed it _Ranshuul_, the Mazanti word for "splinter". Five of Twelve was a Borg drone, but the man who had become Five of Twelve was a Mazanti named Axum.  
His "second-in-command", Twelve of Sixteen, Quaternary Adjunct of Bimatrix 305, walked up to him. His real name, his native Romulan name, was Sergat. "We still have not received a reply from the bioships in the area."  
Axum nodded. "They should respond soon, considering we transmitted the location of the Primary Unicomplex to them."  
Sergat noticed the faraway look on Axum's face. "You're thinking about her, aren't you?"  
Axum glanced at Sergat, then slowly nodded. "I know in my heart that I love her, and I desperately want to see her again. I don't know whether she's still in the Delta Quadrant, or if she has returned to Earth. I know our Transwarp drive wouldn't handle a warp jump to anywhere outside this Quadrant, and I know we can't get a better drive anytime soon." He clenched his fist. "But I promised her I'd find her, and I intend to do that."  
Sergat grinned. "I admire your conviction, and I know that one day you will see her again. She is not gone forever."  
He patted Axum on his metallic shoulder, then suddenly an alarm went off. A vessel was approaching the _Ranshuul_.  
Sergat punched up some commands on the processing node. "It's a bioship."  
Axum did his best to remain calm. The bioship belonged to Species 8472, a race of beings who possessed a bizarre organic technology that the Borg were unable to assimilate. Since Axum and the others had been separated from the Collective, they had made attempts to get Species 8472's help in destroying the Borg. They had transmitted the location of the Primary Unicomplex, the Borg structure located deep in Borg space, that was the lair of the Borg Queen, the mechanical matriarch who orchestrated all the Borg actions in the entire galaxy.  
"They are sending us a message in Federation Standard." Sergat reported. "They say they do not believe we would willingly betray the location of our leader to them."  
Axum had anticipated this would happen. "Inform them of our separation from the Collective. Tell them we wish to bring it down."  
Sergat relayed the message, then swiftly got a reply. "They say that they will destroy the Unicomplex if they can, but they need us to enter fluidic space."  
Axum's throat constricted. "Ask them why."  
Sergat did, and received a reply. "They say we need to display some trust if they're going to join us." He looked up from the monitor. "Axum, I don't trust them. I think we should just forget the whole idea…"  
Axum was struck by an idea. "Tell them to send us deflector modulations to enter fluidic space."  
Sergat grimaced, but did as he was asked. "They're sending them to us now. Axum, this is crazy –"  
"Make the necessary modifications, then take us to fluidic space. I have an idea." Axum told him.

A few minutes later, the _Ranshuul_ was ready to go. "Take us in." Axum told Sergat.  
Sergat activated the deflector, and the _Ranshuul_ opened up a rift into fluidic space. Once they were inside, a swarm of 8472 bioships approached them. One of them sent the _Ranshuul_ a message.  
"They've thanked us for trusting them, and have also told us they find us very gullible…" Sergat trailed off. "It's a trap! We need to get out of here!"  
Axum nodded. "Activate the deflector!"  
The rift opened again, and the _Ranshuul_ began to fly out, pursued by twelve bioships. A blast from one of the ships struck the _Ranshuul_, and the coordinate data for the deflector was altered. Before Sergat or Axum could do anything more, the _Ranshuul_ reverted to normal space, and immediately Axum knew they weren't in the Beta Quadrant anymore.  
A large object hung in the space near them. It had a straight component with rounded edges, and a semi-circle directly next to it.  
"Scan that object!" Axum ordered.  
Sergat ran a scan, and his eyes widened. "It says here it is capable of sending vessels to far-off places in a matter of seconds. It appears we can configure our warp drive to activate this device. The registry says it's called a 'Graviton Catapult'."  
Axum was struck with another idea. "Using current data on Starfleet warp capability, can we project where a Starship would be if it left Sector 278 three months ago?"  
Sergat frowned. "Axum, this is no time to go chasing old girlfriends–"  
A blast from a bioship struck the _Ranshuul_. Sparks flew from the processing node as it exploded. Sergat was knocked down by the blast, and small pieces of shrapnel flew out everywhere. Axum threw himself to the hard ground, then got up once the shrapnel had subsided. Sergat lay on the ground, green blood trickling down his face. A large chunk of shrapnel from the node had embedded itself in his neck.  
Axum slowly got up, mourning the loss of his friend. He decided that now wasn't the time to mourn, and ran towards the nearest functioning processing node. He interfaced with the computer inside the Catapult, and activated the power core. He then used the computer aboard the _Ranshuul_ to determine how far away _Voyager_ could be, and entered the sector value into the Catapult's coordinate computer. The Catapult told him that it wasn't designed to handle a jump that big, but Axum entered it anyway.  
He manoeuvred the _Ranshuul_ towards the center of the semi-circle as the bioships continued firing. Then, grabbing onto the nearest console, he activated his warp drive.  
The _Ranshuul_ shot through the empty space faster than any known Borg vessel. The power core in the Catapult overloaded, and exploded. It tore the Catapult apart as the _Ranshuul_ shot through it. One bioship was caught in the Graviton flow, and shot towards Voyager behind Axum.  
Axum charged the _Ranshuul_'s phasers, then fired on the bioship. The beam was absorbed by the ship, and it kept coming. _Ranshuul_'s structural integrity began to weaken, and former drones thrown around as the ship kept going. Axum gripped the console hard, hoping that he would survive long enough to see her.

"Captain, I'm picking up two vessels coming towards us at a speed faster than anything I've ever seen." Ensign Harry Kim reported.Captain Kathryn Janeway, commanding officer of the Starship _Voyager_, rose from her command chair. "Can you identify them?"  
Kim scanned the ships, and his face became panicked. "One is Borg, the other appears to be a Species 8472 bioship!"  
"Red alert." Janeway ordered. "Raise shields, take us out of warp."  
_Voyager_ slowed out of warp, and readied its weapons. The tactical officer, Lieutenant Commander Tuvok, began targeting the vessels.  
"Captain, we're being hailed by the Borg ship." Kim reported. "They're…they're asking to speak with Seven of Nine."  
Seven, who was on the bridge at her station, glanced at Kim. Janeway also looked at Kim, then at Seven. "Open a channel."  
The image of the interior of a Borg vessel filled the viewscreen. A drone was gripping a computer console as the ship bucked and shook. Sparks flew from processing nodes and consoles everywhere, but still the drone held on. Seven thought his face looked familiar.  
"This is Seven of Nine." She said. "To whom am I speaking?" No, it couldn't be…  
"_Annika?"_ the drone asked. _"Is that you?"_  
In an instant, Seven realised who it was. "Axum…" Her voice was a near whisper.  
"_Annika."_ Axum smiled. _"I told you I'd find you."_  
"But, how? I thought you were in the Beta Quadrant." Seven replied.  
"_I can't explain now. My ship is breaking apart from this gravimetric stress. I may not survive." _He pressed a few buttons on the console. _"I'm sending you our ship's log. It will tell you everything you need to know."_ A strange look came to his face, a mixture of sadness and happiness intermingled. _"I'm so glad I got to see your face…one last time."_  
And with that, the image vanished.  
"What happened?" Janeway asked.  
Kim tried to reestablish the connection, but couldn't. "His comm system has gone offline." His face looked grim.  
Seven's heart was beating fast. The man she had loved had come back to her, across thousands of light years, only to go in the blink of an eye.  
Kim's station beeped an alarm. "Captain, the two ships are getting closer! They're almost within weapons range!"  
Janeway went and sat back down. "Arm phasers and photon torpedoes. Load a few of the nanoprobes warheads as well."  
"Aye, Captain." Tuvok replied. He readied the weapons.  
Suddenly, two shapes streaked out ahead of Voyager. The black form of a Borg vessel stopped just ahead of them, while the bioship continued on, slowly coming apart as it did. Biomatter from the vessel went everywhere, and soon it had been destroyed completely. The Borg vessel had slowed down too quickly, and was now headed on a crash course with _Voyager_. It wouldn't be able to stop in time.  
"Tom, manoeuvre us away from the Borg ship." Janeway ordered. "Divert emergency power to the shields."  
Tom Paris, _Voyager_'s pilot, began to duck the ship away from the oncoming Borg vessel, but it wasn't fast enough. The vessel hit _Voyager_ head-on, destroying itself instantly. The shields held, but the ship shook for a few seconds.  
Then, it was all over.  
Janeway and Seven both stared out the viewscreen at the small chunks of debris that were floating around. There appeared to be nothing left. "Survivors?" Janeway asked. Her voice was hoarse.  
Kim scanned the ruins, then looked up sadly. "None, Captain."  
Janeway looked back at Seven. "I'm sorry." She said.  
Seven suddenly clenched her fists and ran off the bridge. She didn't stop moving until she had reached Cargo Bay 2. On the console near her alcove she accessed the Borg vessels logs. One of them contained a video message. Seven activated it, then began to watch.  
Even though his body was covered in Borg implants, Axum still looked handsome as he spoke. _"Annika,"_ he began, _"If you're watching this, it means I tried to find you, but I was most likely unsuccessful. I know I promised I'd find you, and I'm sorry if I didn't. Ever since Unimatrix Zero was shut down, I began searching for a way to reach you. I've contacted Species 8472, but I'm beginning to doubt they'll help me. My ship's Transwarp drive isn't capable of a jump to the Delta or Alpha Quadrant, and we can't access a better drive without alerting the Queen. I still remain hopeful that I will see you again." _He looked as if he was about to cry. _"I love you, Annika. I've known for the five years we spent together when you were a part of the Collective, and I've known for the short time we spent together three months ago. I don't know whether I'll ever be able to tell you in person, but in case I don't, I really love you. I hope one day we see each other again, but if we don't, I want you to know I never gave up on finding you."_ He placed his grey fingertips on the screen. _"Goodbye, Annika."_  
Before the image faded, Seven placed her fingertips on his, and felt a tear run down her cheek. She wiped it away, and analysed the logs. She read how he had gone to fluidic space, escaped to the Delta Quadrant and used the Graviton Catapult. She felt more tears coming, but did her best to force them away.  
She finished reading the logs just as Captain Janeway entered the Cargo Bay.  
"How are you feeling?" she asked.  
Seven looked up from the console. "As Unimatrix Zero was shutting down, Axum told me that he would find me." She told Janeway. "I knew one day he would, and I never gave up hope. Neither did he."  
Janeway put an arm around Seven's shoulders. "All I can really say is I'm sorry this happened to you. I know Axum was a personal friend to you, and I'm sorry he died."  
Seven's voice was quiet and hoarse. "I would…I would like to be alone for a moment please, Captain."  
Janeway nodded, and walked out of the Cargo Bay, leaving Seven alone to reread to logs.

It was a full three days before Seven came out of the Cargo Bay.


End file.
